Dozens Dead, Ill in India From Bootleg Liquor

FILE - Indarlal waits to collect the body of his brother Rajesh, 30, who died after consuming bootleg liquor at a hospital in Mumbai, India, June 21, 2015.

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Dozens Dead, Ill in India From Bootleg Liquor

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LUCKNOW, INDIA —

At least 39 people have died and 27 more have fallen sick from drinking cheap spurious liquor containing toxic methanol in several villages in the northern India, officials said Saturday.

Senior police officer Ashok Kumar said 26 died in two separate incidents in the state of Uttar Pradesh, 306 kilometers (190 miles) east of capital New Delhi, while 13 others died in the neighboring state of Uttarakhand. The majority of the deaths were reported from the village of Balpur in Uttarakhand.

Kumar said victims consumed liquor during two customary functions Thursday night, adding that the post-mortem and initial forensic reports suggested that the brew was laced with methanol.